Halloween: Obama, Palin costumes flying off shelves

NAPLES - Since Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin entered the national stage, one of the political Halloween costumes popular in Collier and Lee counties this year was probably inevitable: Palin the hunter.

One couple who came into Naples costume shop Masquerade knew exactly how to create the costume, said Tiffany Baker, a sales associate.

"She was going to be Sarah Palin with a machine gun," Baker said, "and he was going to be the moose."

Political candidates have been hot at local costume stores this Halloween, and masks for presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama are sold out at most stores in both counties.

"People are very into the election," said Teri McRory, assistant manager at Spirit Halloween in Naples' Coastland Center.

The seasonal costume shop has run out of all of its political masks, with Obama being the most popular, she said.

"Obama went fast, he was the first to go," McRory said. Each shipment of the Democrat's likeness took just three days to clear out.

But buying the mask doesn't mean you support the candidate, said Stephen LaRosa, manager at Halloween Mega Store in Fort Myers. He said one of his customers bought an Obama mask and an Ali Baba outfit to create a kind of "terrorist suit."

"A lot of them are doing knock-offs," LaRosa said of his politically minded customers.

Those dressing up as Palin are certainly finding unlikely partners, such as wolves, Eskimos and babies, managers said. But the key to any good Palin, it seems, is her trademark glasses.

"They've been pretty popular," said Billy Ray of The Fun Tree, a costume shop in Fort Myers.

Because there are no Palin masks yet, her glasses have become perhaps the most distinctive political Halloween accessory since a 1998-vintage cigar.

"This is as big as Monica Lewinsky," said Masquerade owner Barbara Baier. The Lewinsky scandal was a time when her store always kept a sailor hat, a wig and yes, a cigar, on the front counter, such was the demand.

A decade later, Bill Clinton and company remain a Halloween staple. His mask was more popular than McCain's at Spirit Halloween, McRory said, and occasionally went out the door paired with a school-girl costume.

But a thirst for political dress-up doesn't necessarily extend to every politician, especially the current president.

"Bush? No, nobody wanted to be Bush," Baier said.

Political Halloween costumes are not the only ones, of course. Superheroes and pirates remain more common than politicians, and budget-minded customers are doing more with make-up and inexpensive accessories, Baier said.

But, nationally, election-themed costumes rose to become the sixth most-popular for adults this year, the National Retail Federation reported in September. Political outfits haven't even been in the top 20 for the past three years, which is as far back as NRF's research goes.

The demand has been more than even chain stores can keep up with. Party City locations in Naples, Bonita Springs and Fort Myers sold out of all of their political masks, said Dennis Kacillas, executive assistant manager at the Naples store.

"We've sold more than we've ever sold before," said Kacillas, who has worked for Party City for 12 years. "Vendors really jumped on the bandwagon."

The only thing vendors missed was the Palin mask, which they didn't have time to make, said Rodney Baier, who runs the Masquerade shop in North Fort Myers.

One manufacturer told Baier they won't make Palin's mask unless she's elected. Even then, it wouldn't be available until the coming summer — just in time for next Halloween.